Kashmir Council-Eu Kashmir Council-Eu
A 004144 02.07.2020 KASHMIR COUNCIL-EU KASHMIR COUNCIL-EU Mr. David Maria SASSOLI European Parliament Bât.PAUL-HENRI SPAAK 09B011 60, rue Wiertz B-1047 Bruxelles June 1, 2020 Dear President David Maria SASSOLI, I am writing to you to draw your attention to the latest report released by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition on Civil Society (JKCCS) and Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) which documents a very dire human rights situation in Indian-Administered Kashmir, due to the general breakdown of the rule of law. The report shows that at least 229 people were killed following different incidents of violence, including 32 civilians who lost their life due to extrajudicial executions, only within a six months period, from January 1, 2020, until 30 June 2020. Women and children who should be protected and kept safe, suffer the hardest from the effects of the conflict, three children and two women have been killed over this period alone. On an almost daily basis, unlawful killings of one or two individuals are reported in Jammu and Kashmir. As you may be aware, impunity for human rights abuses is a long-standing issue in Jammu and Kashmir. Abuses by security force personnel, including unlawful killings, rape, and disappearances, have often go ne uninvestigated and unpunished. India authorities in Jammu and Kashmir also frequently violate other rights. Prolonged curfews restrict people’s movement, mobile and internet service shutdowns curb free expression, and protestors often face excessive force and the use of abusive weapons such as pellet-firing shotguns. While the region seemed to have slowly emerging out of the complete crackdown imposed on 5 August 2019, with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdown was reimposed and so the conditions for civilians remain dire.
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